In remarks on the U.S. Senate floor on Monday, Feb. 12, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) said that any future aid to Israel in its war with Hamas should be coupled with Israel adhering to international law.

Van Hollen emphatically noted that Israel is tightly limiting the aid allowed into Gaza and thus the Palestinians there are starving to death.

“I asked the head of the World Food Program – former American ambassador Cindy McCain – about these reports,” said Van Hollen. “I sent her a note, a text message asking about reports that some children have now crossed the awful threshold from being on the verge of starvation or dying of starvation. She wrote back, and I quote, ‘This is true. We are unable to get in enough food to keep people from the brink. Famine is imminent. I wish I had better news.’

“Madam President, I want that to sink in. Kids in Gaza are now dying from the deliberate withholding of food. In addition to the horror of that news, one other thing is true. That is a war crime. It is a textbook war crime. And that makes those who orchestrate it, war criminals.”